THE LATENESS OF THE HOUR
by Tribeca
Summary: "Deleted" scene from 6.09. *complete*


**A/N: I apologize for the lateness, literally and figuratively. ;)**

**Yet again I had to pull this out of thin air as the writers maintained status quo by not letting Sheldon and Penny interact with each other at all in The Parking Spot Allocation (6.09). This fic is kind of angsty so read at your own risk. It's just where my head is right now. If you are one of the many that no longer watch the show, here's a little background: Amy accidentally hit Penny in the nose with her purse which contained a coffee can full of coins. Amy drove Sheldon to the CalTech parking lot to reclaim his parking spot that Howard stole. And Amy showed Sheldon her "lady parts" in the backseat of her car (it was covered in band-aids because she had it waxed for the first time. Really.). For the third week in a row Sheldon and Penny had ZERO interaction unless you count when Sheldon, Amy, Bernadette and Howard were at the Cheesecake Factory and Penny brought them their food. It was like she was some background actress whose only role was to serve the primary actors. She may as well have been some waitress named Nancy (see what I did there?). **

**I hate what they have reduced Penny's character to. If Kaley weren't so beautiful and rich, I'd feel sorry for her. I think I've been so focused on the deconstruction of Sheldon that only this week did I really notice how badly they are minimizing Penny. My hope is they are tearing Sheldon and Penny down only to build them up stronger and better and _together_. I know, crazy, right?**

**On another note, the show sunk to the lowest form of comedy last night. If I didn't know any better I'd swear it had been written by a bunch of eighth-grade boys. There were poop jokes and penis jokes and honestly the last segment when Sheldon went to the dry cleaners was disgusting…further contributing to the dumbing down of our society. I was embarrassed for Jim Parsons to have to say those words. The only thing I have to say to the producers of the show: Shame on you.**

**Heads up: Next week's episode promises to break the heart of every Shenny fan.**

**PS-to the Lenny and Shamy people who always leave hate fueled notes in my box each week: Could you please just STFU for this one week? You and your pairing have WON. You have Penny and Leonard and Amy and Sheldon. All we Shenny people have is our fanfic. Can you just let one go?**

THE LATENESS OF THE HOUR

"_And it's the lateness of the hour that makes me lose control again."_

He watched as she walked away from the table. It had been weeks since he'd last spoken to her. It was odd, he thought, that she lived across the hall from him, was supposedly best friends with his girlfriend and was dating his roommate, yet he felt he hardly knew her anymore. They had been so close. Now he felt as if she may as well be a stranger. Just some unknown, faceless waitress who brings his food to him and smiles politely in hopes of a good tip. So close yet so far away.

"What happened to Penny's nose?" Sheldon asked, looking to Amy.

She giggled and Bernadette stifled a snicker and replied, "Amy bopped her good. We were arguing about you and Howard and Amy swung her purse at me but missed and hit Penny instead."

"I had a can full of coins in there when I hit her. She should have ducked!"

"Thank God you landed that punch on Penny and not on my Bernie. Don't want to mess up a beautiful face like this," Howard said, cupping Bernadette's chin in his hand and leaning in to plant a quick kiss on his wife's nose.

"Oh Howie," Bernadette cooed.

Sheldon shifted in his seat and glared at them, confusion playing across his face, "And you find humor in Penny's pain?"

"She's tough Sheldon, she'll be fine," Amy laughed.

"Well is she alright? Is it broken?" he asked, twisting his head around in an effort to see her. It was too late; she'd disappeared through the swinging doors that led to the kitchen.

"Yes, it's broken. Apparently I pack a pretty strong wallop."

"Yeah," Bernadette smiled, "Penny is probably the toughest cookie I know. No need to worry about her. I'm just glad all the fighting between the four of us is over. I feel like we are all so much closer now. That's what is important, right?"

"Right! Here's to burying the hatchet," Howard replied as they all clinked their drinks together.

Sheldon couldn't help but wonder why a different waitress came to check on them before they paid the bill. And when no one even bothered to ask where Penny was, he felt a sharp twinge in his gut.

~o0o~

Penny was glad to be home. She was sprawled on her sofa with a large bag of peas balanced across her face acting as a cold pack to her bruised and broken nose. She wondered if the straight tequila she was drinking could cause much harm since she'd just taken pain medication they had given her at the hospital the day before. She knew there was something about mixing alcohol and medication but she was too far gone to care. Her eyes glazed over now, aimed upwards, and she wondered how long the water stain on the ceiling had been there.

When she had come in from work, she'd stood in her kitchen and yanked her uniform off and kicked her shoes across the room. Now she wore only her underwear. She rolled her eyes in disgust as she looked down at the matching soft pink and white lacy bra and thong. She wondered why she'd chosen such a ridiculous thing to wear to work.

Her head was fuzzy from the drugs, the alcohol, the exhaustion from work, but mostly from the ass kicking her life had been giving her for the past two years. Now she could add one more worry to her ever growing list: would her nose grow back straight or would it be crooked and how would this affect her acting career? Last she checked, most casting directors weren't fond of hiring imperfect actress with crooked facial features. Her looks. It was really all she had left. And now that too had been compromised. Her appearance was in danger of being taken from her thanks to Amy's purse wielding and a coffee can full of coins. _Was there anything else Amy was going to take from her? Was there anything left?_

She laughed as she sat up and the peas slid down her face and landed in her lap. It was a laugh she knew too well. A drunken laugh, an I-don't-give-a-fuck laugh. The laugh of fools. And she was the biggest fool of all. She grabbed the peas and flung them forward, watching with amusement as the plastic bag broke apart and tiny frozen peas exploded through the air before landing hundreds of bounces across her floor.

"Shhhh," she giggled at the peas before reaching for the bottle in front of her and slamming down another swig. She shuddered as the bitterness coated her mouth and then burned its way down her throat. She held the bottle up and studied the label until the liquid had settled in her gut.

"Here's to Amy and Sheldon. May they live long and…whatthefuckever," she mumbled before taking another long gulp.

~o0o~

The soft knocking woke her. It took her a moment to figure out where she was and why she wasn't in her bed. The yellow glow of a lamp cast just enough light for her to see that she was at least in her own apartment. She knew it was him not by his signature knocking and the calling of her name, but by the lateness of the hour. He was the only one who had ever been able to get away with middle of the night visits.

The room spun around when she sat up, but she'd been here so many times before and she knew to sit still for a few seconds and things would settle. Besides, she reasoned that she had six more knocks and two more "Pennys" to go before she was expected to answer the door. She hated that he would see her drunk (again) but told herself that it was better than a hangover. At least dealing with him while she was intoxicated was a little easier than dealing with him with a bass drum banging inside her head. That would come in a few hours but for now she was still happy drunk.

"Hey Sheldon," she slurred as she pulled the door open. She made no attempt to disguise her inebriation.

"Penny," he whispered, reaching to catch her before she slipped down the doorframe and into the floor. He paused momentarily to study the peas scattered across the floor and then tried to step around them.

He secured his hold on her then gently closed the door and guided her to the sofa. He paused for longer than he knew he should have to take in her barely covered body before reaching to remove his Green Lantern shirt and ordering her to put it on. She rolled her eyes and did as he said, all the while making a snarky comment about his thermal undershirt. He settled her onto the cushions and then surveyed the table which held the concoction of pills and alcohol before scooping them up in one quick swipe and moving to the kitchen.

"I'll make coffee," he said quietly, turning back to look at her, then opening the pill bottle and doing a quick calculation of how many capsules should be missing. At least she hadn't taken more than the doctor had ordered. Of course there was the tiny issue of mixing them with liquor but he'd address that with her later.

"But you don't drink coffee Shelly Bean," she giggled and flopped back on the couch.

"No, but you need too. How much liquor did you drink?"

"Aw, I don't know. Enough to forget I guess."

He quickly put the coffee on to brew, then ran water in a kettle to make tea for himself.

"What exactly are you trying to forget Penny?"

"I can't tell you that Sheldon," she sniggered, swiping her hand across her face and then wincing in pain when her fingers bumped her nose. "Ouch, my stupid nose is killing me. See what your girlfriend did to me?"

"I do," he sighed, recalling the argument he'd had with Amy just a few hours earlier.

"Oh yeah, you saw it at the Cheesecake Factory when you were on your _date_ with Amy earlier. I almost forgot. See, the alcohol was working until you showed up."

He moved towards her and sat down slowly on the sofa.

"Let me look at it," he said, dipping towards her.

"No!" she yelled, pulling back from him.

He dropped his hands to his knees and drew in a deep breath.

"Why not?"

"Because, Shelly, you are Amy's boyfriend now. You can't be close to another girl. You can't touch another girl. In fact, you really need to leave. Just go. I'm just a little tipsy, I can take care of myself."

"Penny please," he pleaded with her. He hated seeing her this way.

"Please what Sheldon? You guys are moving right along. And you know the great thing about it? She tells me everything. I'm her bestie, you know. And any day now I fully expect to get a text from her telling me how you…God, just forget it. I'm getting a headache. Can you just go?"

"I'm not leaving you this way Penny."

"You left me a long time ago Sheldon."

He lifted his eyes to meet hers and sighed before reaching for her hand. The effort was in vain, as she pulled back from him and told him again not to touch her. They both were thankful for the low whistle of the kettle and he moved to make his tea and pour her coffee.

~o0o~

"It's three a.m.," she said, now almost sober and wishing she wasn't.

"I'm aware of the time," he said, adding, "I'm still not leaving until you talk to me."

She sighed and excused herself, coming back after washing her face and changing into pink flannel pajamas.

"Here's your shirt back," she mumbled, throwing the green top at him. "And please don't ever give me another one of your shirts to wear again, okay? I don't want or need your shirts."

"Then please don't get drunk and come to the door half dressed," he snapped back at her.

"How about you please don't come to my door again?" she bit back, her eyes challenging him.

He stood and lifted the shirt over his head and tugged it down his body.

"Ya sure you want to do that? You may catch some germs or something from me. You know I'm just a poor dumb waitress with poor dumb germs. My germs aren't smart and educated like yours and your friends. But my germs can kick your genius ass."

"Penny, really. Just don't."

"What's it gonna take to get you to leave Sheldon? You see I'm fine. I'm sober now, I've had two cups of coffee, I'm not over here trying to hurt myself. There is no reason you should be here. Besides, you are missing your precious _rimmm _sleep or whatever the hell it is you call it."

"I'll leave when you tell me what's been bothering you for the past months. Or years. Something has shifted. Something is different."

She sighed and reached to drag her fingers through her hair, twisting it into a high, sloppy bun and securing it with an elastic band from the side table. She studied his face and only looked away when he eased his tongue out to nervously moisten his lips.

"You know Sheldon, there was a time when that would have been me in the parking lot with you. I would have driven you over there, I would have watched for the cops while you painted your name. I would have yelled at you to stop being so…_Sheldony_."

"What?"

She blinked back tears, "You don't…you don't need me anymore. You have Amy now."

"Penny. That's not true. I'll always need you."

"She tells me everything, you know? Not that she really needs to because she also posts it on Twitter and Facebook."

"God."

"Yeah. And since I'm being honest with you, I'll tell you one more thing. And if you ever say I said this, I'll twist your nipples off, got it?"

"Yes," came his whisper.

"I always thought…God, I can't believe I'm telling you this," she dropped her gaze to her lap and realized she may not be as sober as she thought because of what she was about to confess to him, "I always thought that mine would be the first, uh, lady parts you ever saw."

"What? What do you…oh…ohhhh."

She forced a smile at him and then shrugged and said, "Yeah."

"Penny!" he yelped.

"And you wanna know the worst part? I'm the one that encouraged her and took her to get a wax. Me. And do you want to know why?"

He nodded.

"I did it Sheldon, for the same reasons I've done a lot of things with Amy. I did it because I want everything to be perfect…perfect for you…_I want everything to be perfect for you._"

"I thought you did it because you are her friend."

"Sweetie, I was your friend long before I was her friend. Everything I've done with and for Amy, it's always been for you. Always," she pushed out the last word and then stood to go to her bedroom for tissues.

"Why are you crying?" he asked innocently when she returned and sat down next to him.

"I don't know Sheldon. Maybe because I feel like in the process of making Amy into the girlfriend you deserve, I've lost the most important thing of all."

"And that would be?" he asked, shifting to look at her.

"You. I've lost you. And I don't know if we can ever go back."

"Back to what?" he croaked out.

"Back to us. What we used to be. I guess I just miss…us, Sheldon."

"Stop drinking," he pleaded, placing a finger under her chin and lifting her face towards his.

"Stop Amy," she whispered.

"It's getting late," he said as he moved to stand up, reaching his hand towards her.

"In more ways that one," she sighed, taking his out stretched hand and letting him pull her to her feet.

She moved to walk him to the door and was stopped by his hand tightening around hers. She turned to look at him, to question him, to pull away from him.

"Sheldon?"

"I'm sorry about your nose," he said, tracing his index finger gently over the purple skin.

"It's okay," she sighed, "I'll be fine. I always am. Amy and Bernadette are right, I am tough."

"Aren't you tired of being tough Penny?" he asked, dropping her hand and slipping his arms around her waist, pulling her close to his body, burying his face in her hair.

Penny closed her eyes, barely believing Sheldon was bringing her into his well guarded personal space. He had done it a few times before but it was a rare occurrence. Too frightened that words would break the moment, she said nothing, instead she snaked her arms up his body and wrapped them gently around his neck, pressing her face against his chest.

"I wish you were mine," he finally breathed out and she felt a single tear fall down her face and she whispered, "So do I."

"It's late," he said and she felt his body tremble against hers.

"We've established that," she said softly wishing their embrace never had to end.

"Is it too late?" he asked, pulling back and locking eyes with her.

"I hope not," she sighed, wishing the world away as he brought his mouth to hers.

And the lateness of the hour caused them to lose control again.


End file.
